Pirate's Cove
by KateMarie999
Summary: Sven has been traveling with a band of pirates against his will for most of his life. The captain finally makes a deal with him that will result in his freedom. But things get complicated when he meets a woman in the village they are planning to raid and the two strike up an unlikely friendship. Sequel to Fight or Flight. Rated T to be safe.
1. Prologue: The Deal

_Hello loyal readers!_

_If you have not yet read __Fight or Flight__, I strongly encourage you to do so before reading this story. This is a sequel and will likely spoil many of the events of that story. You should also know that this isn't going to be a very long story unless I randomly decide to go in a specific direction partway through. This is also a loose fan fiction to begin with because the only character from the original film is Toothless and the only character from the first story is Kara._

_You should also know that this story takes place three years later, during the events that took place when Kara was writing in her journal in the first story. So if some of that starts making sense, you'll understand why._

_And now, without further ado, I present to you the second installment in the Kara Trilogy!_

_~KateMarie999_

_P.S. I posted this just before midnight on one character's birthday. Guess who! Oh... and completely by coincidence, it just so happens to be mine as well._

* * *

**Prologue: The Deal  
**

He was beginning to prefer the nightmares.

The good dreams held hope, held an imagined future in which nothing could go wrong. He enjoyed them while they lasted but the disappointment of waking up and realizing where he was drowned out the happiness in an instant and made his real life seem a lot worse than it probably was. The nightmares made him _relieved_ to wake up, no matter how miserable a life he was having at the time.

He hit his head on the ceiling, causing waves of pain to radiate down from the top of his skull. Irritably rubbing his head, he climbed down the ladder and was careful not to wake the young man sleeping on the bottom bunk. The ground beneath him lurched uncomfortably but he was so used to that occurrence that it hardly registered anymore.

He opened the door to the outside a crack, allowing the cool air to wake him up better than his nightmare had done. He shut his eyes and breathed it in for a few minutes, pretending that he wasn't there, that he was miles away.

"Boy!" shouted a voice uncomfortably close by. "Get out here and clean up! We've been waiting for a long time!"

He opened his eyes and, with a slight frown, walked out of the room, silently shutting the door behind him. As he climbed a few steps to the deck, he became aware of a putrid smell that was getting stronger the closer he came. When he arrived, the voice's owner thrust a mop at him.

"Freystein threw up on the deck again. You know what to do." He said, also handing over a bucket. "And get it done fast."

He nodded, grimacing at the smell. Disgusting. He hated cleaning vomit most of all, especially in the early morning. By the position of the sun, it was before seven. He threw water at the vomit, diluting it and making it easier to scrub up. The back of his neck began to collect beads of sweat and his eyes were filling with tears as a reaction to that horrible smell. He had taught himself to tune out the noises of the other men, preferring to go into his own world and pretend, for just a second, that he was somewhere, anywhere else.

"Boy!" this time it was a different voice. It barely registered. "Boy!" no response. "Sven!"

He looked up, feeling slightly abashed, and was soon face-to-face with the owner of that voice.

"Gudrik." He said, nodding to the captain.

"I want to have a word with yeh." said Gudrik, his black eyes narrowed. "Leave that filth and come. Now."

Sven nodded once more and got up, following the man to his quarters. The captain's quarters. He had only been in there once and he did not want to relive _that _particular instance. He still had scars on his back from that day.

Gudrik noticed his trepidation and smiled grimly. "I won't be beatin' yeh. Yeh did nothin' wrong, least not yet."

This should have made him feel better but instead he awkwardly twiddled his thumbs.

"Yeh remember the arrangement we made when we got yeh?"

Sven nodded. Of course he remembered. He'd always remember that arrangement. It was the reason his life was a living Hel.

"We keep yeh till yer 21, then yer free teh go where yeh please." Gudrik said. "Well yeh've been a nuisance. Yeh're a terrible addition to this crew so I'm gonna strike yeh a deal. Yeh gotta follow my orders to the letter."

"I can do that, sir." said Sven, trying not to portray the amount of confusion he felt.

"One more raid. Yeh do as we say, yeh're free. Yeh muck it up, yeh stay." Gudrik picked up a sword, inspecting it closely, almost as though he had forgotten Sven was still standing there. "Do we have a deal?"

Sven considered this for a moment. Raids were bloody, horrible affairs in which his fellow crewmembers pillaged a town and took everything valuable, including strong young boys (mostly orphan boys like himself) who could serve them as crewmembers. However, as long as he wasn't asked to kill anyone, and they never did ask him to do so, he could comply. Then perhaps he could find somewhere to call home…

"I will do as you say, sir." he agreed, unable to shake the feeling that he was making a mistake in the process.

"Good." said Gudrik, still not looking at him. "Yeh can go. And mind ye clean up that puke on the deck. We land sometime today. Place called Styr."

Sven nodded. As he exited, he felt as though he had made a bad deal. He had heard that Styr was a peaceful community, certainly not one that would put up much of a fight. Then again, perhaps that would make his job easier.

As he finished cleaning up the vomit, he looked up. In the distance, he could see the coast of Styr approaching slowly. His freedom was in his grasp.

Yes, Sven preferred the nightmares. But perhaps his good dreams had merit as well.


	2. Chapter 1: The Woman in the Woods

_Hello again,  
_

_Apologies for the later update. I usually like to write a chapter a day but this one was tricky so I'd really appreciate reviews if possible, to tell me what you liked or didn't like. It would help me immensely. Sadly, I don't have as thoroughly planned out a storyline as for Fight or Flight but at least this chapter ties into the movie and my first story. There shall be more to come!  
_

_~KateMarie999_

**Chapter One: The Woman in the Woods**

Sven thought, as they sailed into the opposite end of Styr, that they must be very unusual pirates. He would occasionally hear tales of other pirates, their rivals, and those pirates usually attacked other ships. Gudrik, on the other hand, seemed to prefer to act as though they were merely a nomadic tribe, make the villagers trust them, and then steal everything. It seemed oddly worse than the havoc other pirates would wreak because it was so dishonest. Though he was never given much of an education, aside from learning to read, Sven seemed to have an intrinsic sense of right and wrong and this seemed horribly wrong to him. Then again, one more raid and he was free. He didn't want to lose sight of that as he embarked on this morally ambiguous mission.

As they landed, Sven did what he rather liked to do in a new area. He liked to look around, take in the scenery, and _feel _his surroundings. He had made the unfortunate decision to vocalize this when he was very young and once in a while, the other pirates rather liked to poke fun at him because of this. He didn't like their mockery but with advanced age (he had just turned 20, after all) he was able to ignore them. And he wasn't about to change his habits. He thought that his parents must have been the most stubborn people on earth because he certainly had issues with that as well.

Gudrik was very glad to see that the island had a decent sized cove. He liked thick forests or caves a lot because they allowed him to hide most of the people in his crew. Introducing the pirates gradually was all part of the plan. Planning pirates, Sven thought, must be quite the rarity. He certainly wasn't a planner by nature, despite growing up around them, but he had to give them credit for creativity in their dealings, horrible as they were.

The cove was dank and dark. Sven had an irrational fear of the dark. Usually he suffered through it but today he felt odd about it, as though the darkness would somehow morph into a kind of corporeal form and strangle him. In fact, he thought it might have begun because he started to hyperventilate. Fortunately for him, the others didn't notice.

"You there, don't just stand there, get us some firewood!" shouted Freystein (the pirates rarely spoke in low voices to begin with and certainly not to him).

Feeling immensely glad that he wouldn't be asked to do something in the darkness of the cove, Sven began to search through the forest for good sticks and logs. He detested heavy lifting, his stature was entirely too small for anything truly heavy anyway, but it meant being able to search by the sunlight. There was still a good amount of it left.

He stomped through the wood, being careful not to run into any low hanging branches (clumsiness seemed to be another unfortunate trait he'd always had). He thought about what he would do with his newfound freedom. Perhaps he would roam around in search of his parents or people who knew them. He didn't know anything about them but maybe someone else would know. Or perhaps he would settle down, find someone to marry, raise a family. He wasn't sure what to do with his freedom but he did know he wanted to be far away from the pirates when it finally did come to him. Perhaps he'd be a dragon killer. He had heard of some strong, courageous Vikings who killed dragons for sport and… well no, the idea was laughable. His stature wasn't right for that. He smiled to himself at the thought. He could consider _anything _if he was free!

Anything, he thought, including that arrow on the tree. He stopped to observe it, the odd way it seemed to be still burning through its trunk. It made a faint hissing noise. For some reason, he found himself enthralled by it.

A twig snapped uncomfortably close to him and he jumped, spinning around and came face to face with the archer, who was holding another arrow pointed directly toward his heart.

The archer was female with the bushiest, reddest hair Sven had ever seen. She was covered in freckles and couldn't have been any older than he was. She was several inches shorter than him and he felt certain that he would win a physical confrontation with her but the arrow was more of a threat in this instance. It had a slight green tinge and certainly looked sharp. She was shooting left-handed, her eyes narrowed, as though she was just about to shoot. He jumped back in alarm.

"It's okay!" he shouted, his voice cracking uncomfortably. "I'm… I'm nice! I'm nice! Don't shoot!"

The archer raised an eyebrow. "You're… _nice_?" she asked in a voice rather sharper than he expected coming from her.

He nodded. "I'm… well I meant that I don't want to hurt you. I'm sorry if I startled you." He shifted his hands toward the place the arrow was pointed, feeling rather exposed.

She didn't lower her arrow but her grip softened and she stared at him for a full minute. Her eyes were a shiny, olive green and, he couldn't help noticing, she had rather long eyelashes. He began to feel very uncomfortable with the eye contact so he lowered his eyes and focused on his shoes.

"You're not from around here, are you?" she finally asked, still staring at him in a way that made him very uncomfortable.

"Well no, not exactly. I'm from a nomadic clan. We… we travel around… I'm sorry, are you going to lower that arrow?" Sven asked, feeling a combination of unease and annoyance. "I'm not going to hurt you."

The woman looked at the arrow she was pointing and smiled. "I'm sorry." She said as she lowered it. "I'm from pretty far away as well and I'm not sure who to trust."

Feeling exceptionally relieved, Sven stepped forward and extended his hand. "My name is Sven." He said.

She didn't take his hand; instead she looked at him quizzically. "You're very friendly."

Sven shrugged. "I want to make a good impression. If that was your arrow on the tree, I don't want my heart to be burned away from the inside. It sounds very painful."

"Yes, I imagine so." she said, finally taking his hand.

"What's your name?" Sven asked, wondering why she didn't offer this information.

"I don't think I'm quite comfortable telling you that right now." She narrowed her eyes at him again.

"But… you said…"

"Yes, I said it's hard to know who to trust. I trust that you're not going to hurt me. If you do, you'll probably be dead in two seconds flat; I'm a very good shot." Somehow, Sven didn't find that hard to believe. "I don't trust you. And I don't want my name getting out and causing some kind of alarm."

"Why would your name cause…"

"So Sven," she interrupted. "why are you here?"

"I… was gathering fire wood." Sven thought the truth would be preferable now, especially when faced with a lethal weapon like that arrow.

"Yes well… keep gathering. I may just see you again." And with that, she turned and walked away.

"Wait!" Sven called, running forward a few steps. "What can I call you? I mean… you don't have to tell me your name. I just want to… you know… call you something."

The woman stopped for a moment, thinking about a response. She turned to face him. "I'm sure you'll come up with something nice." In a moment, she had disappeared into the thick foliage.

Sven stood there staring at the place the woman had left. If he hurried, he could catch up to her and perhaps extend the conversation. But he didn't feel right about doing that. She had made it quite clear that their conversation was over and he wasn't one to press the issue, especially with strangers. So, picking up his fire wood, he headed back to the cove.

"It's about time yeh showed up!" Gudrik exclaimed as Sven arrived, placing the firewood in its usual place. "We were just about to tell yeh about yer role in this raid since yeh're so eager to be outta here."

Sven nodded, not trusting himself to speak. Gudrik seemed to notice this and the corners of his mouth lifted slightly in a faint smile.

"Yeh're learnin'." He added. "Year ago, yeh'd have fought us."

"Yes." said Sven. "I might have."

"Well yer job is this: we want yeh to introduce us. Say we're from a clan who likes to travel and we have things to trade, things they'd like. Then Freystein and Runa will come in as the traders."

So Sven wouldn't have to kill anyone. This was a comfort to him. He just had to begin the slowly executed attack. This wasn't a pleasant job but he was glad not to be required to do something truly horrible. Sure the charade would be completely dishonest but there would be no killing involved. And if all worked out, they could break into houses and steal in the middle of the night instead of be involved in a raid that could possibly result in the deaths of the villagers. And Styr was peaceful, at least it had been fourteen years ago.

Gudrik talked more about tactics and strategies but Sven found himself unable to focus on his voice. He kept thinking about the woman he had met in the woods. If she wasn't part of Styr, perhaps she wouldn't get in their way. And if her arrows were her only ways of defending herself, she certainly wouldn't be able to fight off fifty-or-so pirates, most of which were very skilled with their own weapons.

But it wasn't the practical matter of whether or not she would be a threat to them that was causing her to invade his mind so much. No, Sven was thinking more on a personal level about her. She was clearly confident and resourceful. He had never seen arrows that were able to burn through wood before. He thought that she must have invented them or at least be trained in using them wherever she came from. He wondered where that was. It certainly wasn't Styr, he hadn't seen red hair since they were up north and that was maybe five years ago. Green eyes were quite a bit more common, of course, but he had still never seen anyone who looked quite like her.

The most bewildering thing about her, he thought to himself, was that he felt as though she was somehow familiar. He knew he hadn't seen her before, he would remember _that_ hair, but maybe he had dreamed up a person like her at some point.

The deep thinking was beginning to make him feel a bit lightheaded. Gudrik's voice droned on in the background, he couldn't very well focus on that without becoming horribly bored. That man could certainly _talk_. He rested his head in his right hand and stared at Gudrik as though deeply enthralled by what he had to say. And in a moment, Gudrik did indeed say something that was of great interest to him.

"An' I've heard, though I haven't had a chance to find out for sure, that there have been Night Fury sightings on the island. Yeh must be _very_ careful not to get yerself killed by one. They never miss. If yeh can, kill it, do so, but try 'n leave it alone if yeh come across it."

Sven perked up at this. Night Furies were dangerous creatures and he was certainly glad to get the foreknowledge. He sat up a bit, thinking vaguely that if he did encounter one, he would be best to run for his life. Perhaps his new friend would hear his high pitched scream.

Crimson, he thought suddenly. He would call her Crimson.


	3. Chapter Two: Sacrificial Love

_So this was a fail of a hiatus. It took me an unusually long time to write this chapter because the character didn't come to me easily. I actually stressed about writing this chapter for a long time before I actually sat down and wrote it. It's shorter than the others (I usually like to make each chapter at least 2,000 words but this one simply wasn't long enough). The character I introduce in this chapter is a relatively new addition; she didn't exist while I was writing the previous one._

_A dear friend of mine says that this is better than Fight or Flight which frightens me because I'm not sure if I can live up to the prologue. Everyone's so curious as to where this is going but I'm afraid that it's going to take more time to unravel the mysteries I started. There is one big secret that I've been planting since an early chapter of the previous story but I won't tell you anything more, except to say that a friend told me it was very Steven Moffat-like which, to me, is high praise._

_Anyway, this hiatus was going to last a lot longer only I figured out how to fill the spaces sooner than I intended. So rather than say the story is on hiatus, how about I say that the updates will be slower than with Fight or Flight? I will, of course, work very hard because I love my readers and, as always, I will review something of yours in exchange for a good review of a chapter of my story.  
_

_Oh and as a heads up, Chapter 3 is actually finished and ready to go but I'll hold off on posting it so I don't inundate you with updates and then suddenly be all quiet for a long time._

_~KateMarie999_

**Chapter Two: Sacrificial Love**

Matilda had only had one moment of joy in her entire, miserable existence. And even that moment came after hours of the most intense pain she had ever felt. She shuddered to remember that pain, the agony that had left her _screaming_ for mercy that wouldn't come. How it had been worth it when she met him. When she was looking into his eyes.

She preferred not to remember how that moment came about. It wasn't _his _fault that he came out of such horrible circumstances. While she still had nightmares about that night, about being forced to the ground by a man she didn't even know and crying out for help that didn't come, she was just a little bit glad it had happened. Through that horrible moment, she had gotten a reason to live. He was the only reason she had left to fight.

Up until that one moment of pure joy, she had considered ending everything. Her parents didn't love her; they had wanted a good, strong boy. Her brother was allowed to abuse her all he wanted because she was the accident, the child who was never supposed to exist. She had exacted her revenge on them a few times but now that they kept _him _from her, she had no choice. She had no freedom left.

Why did they want her to spy on a lonely archer? They didn't even tell her the archer's name, only that the archer was wanted by Matilda's clan for the murder of a dragon. They had been unable to find her for years but it had been a stroke of luck that helped Matilda figure out where to find her. The archer's description certainly made it easy to find her. Look for a woman with bushy red hair and two dragons. Yes, that was easy to figure out but she still considered herself lucky that she had found her on Styr. Of course, she wasn't given instructions for what to do when she did find her so Matilda resigned herself to sticking to the shadows, waiting for word on whether to kill this young woman, who looked harmless enough, or to simply wait for the clan to come and kill her. Apparently this archer was the daughter of someone important on Berk. Stupid Berk. If not for Berk, perhaps Matilda's people wouldn't have an enemy to fight and she could be home with him.

But then a giant ship had sailed into the opposite end of the island. Matilda's rampant curiosity, which had gotten her into more sticky situations than she could count, had distracted her from her job and led her to watch the ship's residents unload their cargo. There had been an adorable young man with them who didn't look like he belonged. He was the hiccup to end all hiccups, only about 5'9 and weighing no more than 115 pounds by her guess. While the rest of the ship's occupants had dark, coarse hair, he had light blonde hair and, she could tell even from this distance, clear blue eyes. He also had a tendency to trip on things an awful lot. There had been one horrible moment where she stepped on a twig while standing close to him but fortunately for her, he managed to find the archer she had been watching instead of her. The archer was far too nimble to give herself away but this error didn't seem to arouse suspicion.

She carefully climbed a nearby tree as the archer she was meant to follow spoke to this young man, who introduced himself as Sven. For one horrible moment, she had feared that the archer would shoot him but was relieved when she finally put down her arrow. For some reason, Matilda liked Sven. It was almost instinctive. He was small and awkward, so unlike anyone where she came from. Perhaps the sharp contrast piqued her interest. For a moment, as she watched him talk to the very confident archer (who, to her irritation, didn't reveal her name), almost forgetting who she was supposed to target.

But the conversation between the two young adults was short. Matilda carefully climbed from tree to tree to pursue the archer even though she _wanted _to pursue Sven. The archer finally reached a small clearing where she had set up a tent. Lying next to the tent, fast asleep, was the large Night Fury she brought along. That Night Fury (Toothless, she called it) was the only reason Matilda didn't reveal herself. She had been spying on the archer for about a month now with no way of telling her village that she had found her target. So she merely waited for backup or a way to send the message. Her ship, a small one by anyone's standards, was parked in a watery cove a mile south of there and she was currently surviving on the leaves she had been taught were safe to eat. She slept on her cloak and it was relatively comfortable.

The archer patted Toothless on his head and greeted her exuberant, friendly little dragon (whose name Matilda had never heard spoken clearly enough to tell). The archer seemed tired for some reason, perhaps from talking to someone for the first time in a long time. Matilda noticed that the archer's voice would probably be unnecessary if she didn't have her dragons to keep her comfortable.

* * *

The next day, the archer left the clearing before Matilda woke up. But now that Matilda knew where the archer was camped, she had a bit more freedom. And she chose to use this freedom to find that Sven person. He was all she could think about. There was something so… so enticing about him. She wondered where he was and what he was doing. So, forgetting her intended target for a while, she went away in search of him.

It was surprisingly easy to find him this time. She ventured toward the village and saw him standing there in the town square, not meeting anyone's gaze as he introduced some rather formidable looking people to the town. They wore smiles that seemed pleasant but Matilda didn't like the look of them. One of them, the woman, carried a healer's kit and the other, the man, took out some gold pieces. Still, there was something about them that she didn't like. The villagers didn't seem to notice.

As she peered at them all, wondering what they were up to, she failed to notice that Sven had wandered off. Years later, she would wonder how she managed to miss this.

"Excuse me."

Matilda spun around on the spot and was horrified to find herself face-to-face with that Sven person she had been watching.

They stared at each other for a moment. Sven was only a few inches taller than she was (and, by the look of him, older than her as well). Her brown eyes widened in horror as they stared into his blue ones. Then, a moment later, Sven began to laugh.

"I'm sorry, I think I scared you as much as you scared me, spying on us like that." he said, grinning widely. "Are you from the village?"

Matilda shook her head, terrified. Sven looked concerned.

"Are you okay? You don't look so good. Styr's friendly, they'll help you." Sven reached out a hand but Matilda jumped away from it as though it was a lethal weapon.

She shook her head again and Sven, if possible, looked even _more _concerned.

"Hey, it's okay. I'm not going to hurt you." he thought for a moment before continuing. "I met someone here yesterday. A woman with red hair. Are you with her?"

Matilda shook her head yet again. She didn't trust herself to speak out loud to him. The look he was giving her, it was so _gentle_, so full of kindness. She was not used to being looked at in this manner and it frightened her.

"Well… is there anything I can do for you?" Sven asked, his voice soft and gentle as his expression.

Trembling, Matilda shook her head for a fourth time and ran away as fast as she could, leaving the bemused blonde standing there, still looking toward her in concern.

Matilda ran for over an hour, not even thinking about how tired she had become. When she was on the other end of the island, she slowed down and, suddenly overcome with exhaustion, collapsed to her knees. For one horrible moment, she feared she would pass out or throw up but the feelings passed in a few seconds. She couldn't get the image of Sven's face out of her head and she knew full well that he would invade her dreams for weeks to come.

Since that one moment of pure joy that had been brutally ripped from her, Matilda had vowed never to allow herself to become close to anyone else. And though she didn't know this young man, she feared that she might be breaking this vow. There was something so pure about him despite a life with such harsh looking people. In her entire life, Matilda never could pinpoint what exactly had made him so alluring to her but she knew that she needed to see him again.

If only she could strike up the courage.


	4. Chapter Three: A Dangerous Encounter

_Hello my lovely readers,_

_This chapter has been finished for over a week but, as I said in the last update, I didn't want to post too much for fear that you might fall behind. Chapter 4 hasn't even been started so I'll probably need a lot more time to finish it. That being said, I can't possibly tell you when I'll update because it could take just a day to write chapter 4 or it could take a week. Who knows?_

_For those who love Sven/Crimson banter, you will love this chapter. I'm trying to extend the story to allow for more but Sven will be in Story 3 (no title yet) so you'll see more of that there as well._

_And now… Chapter 3!_

_~KateMarie999_

**Chapter Three: A Dangerous Encounter**

Sven woke early the next morning. It was dawn and the sky was pinkish red as the sun began to ascend. It promised to be a nice day; a few clouds would block out the harsh rays of the sun and prevent sunburns for which he was very grateful. It was mid September, a week after his birthday (which no one ever remembered). Sven liked September and not just because of his birthday but because it was usually mild. It was the last month before it got really cold. And sunny days like this were slightly more common in the warmer months.

It would probably be a few hours before the villagers who had agreed to take him in woke up and perhaps they would make him breakfast. The thought of being fed by the people he was going to rob made him feel physically ill. He decided to take out the rolled-up paper in his satchel and some charcoal and perhaps draw or write something down. He tended to find that soothing. It helped him to truly understand his feelings and emotions.

He wandered through the wood, taking in everything he could see. He loved moments like these. They were impossible on the ship but when they went to a new area, Sven loved to get away for a while. Being a pirate was perfect for natural extroverts but he simply wasn't wired that way. He preferred to think of himself as an introvert who liked people. And he usually did like the people they encountered. It was such a shame he had to partake in the activities of stealing from them.

Once he finally found a good place to write, he sat himself down on a rock, got out his charcoal, and waited for inspiration. It didn't come to him. It wasn't that he hadn't had a moment like this before, all artists must have felt uninspired, but this particular moment frustrated him. He thought for a moment about going back and trying to darken the letters in his other writings to make them legible (he _really _hated being left-handed sometimes). But no, he didn't want to do that either. He felt pent-up somehow, like he was being held back. Truthfully, he should have had a lot to write about with the new deal hanging over his head. Instead he had nothing. Perhaps he was overloaded.

He finally put down his charcoal, devoid of ideas for writing. He stared at his shoes, which were a bit too tight and were starting to rub in some places. He knew he'd have blisters when it was all over and promised himself that he would get better shoes.

_Shoes._ Of all the things he could consider when he could finally have his own life back, he was thinking about shoes. This seemed oddly stupid. He could _make _shoes without any problem. In fact, he could probably get shoes from Styr's village and the pirates certainly wouldn't care. What was missing? Why was he so… blank? Especially since he had been fantasizing about his freedom for a long time…

He heard a cracking sound behind him. He turned around and a dark shape went just out of the range of his sight. Feeling slightly uneasy, he stood up and stowed the charcoal and paper back into his satchel. He looked around but he didn't see anything that resembled what he had seen just seconds ago. Fear was beginning to creep up on him.

Suddenly and without any warning, a massive dark… thing shot out at him. Letting out a shout of surprise, he began to run away as fast as he could. The dark thing pursued, letting out a sort of gurgling noise as it did. At first he thought the darkness he had feared last night _had _taken a bodily form and was chasing him now. If that was the case, he was surely going to die. Cursing his small frame as he had done so many times before, he tried desperately to throw the pursuer off by weaving around the trees but it seemed to be too smart for that. Before Sven could react, it pounced and landed right on top of him.

He lay there face to face with the pursuer and was horrified to realize that it was a gigantic black dragon on top of him. Thinking he only had seconds to live, he shut his eyes and lay still, deciding that if he was going to die, he would rather it be quick. Instead, the dragon nudged him with its face.

"Toothless!" shouted a familiar voice from somewhere in the woods.

He must have been hearing things. Though he thought it was an awfully weird thing for someone to shout. Was the dragon actually toothless? Would it devour his teeth first?

"Toothless, stop it! Get off him!" shouted the voice again.

It was all muddled together. Sven thought he must already be dead. But to his great surprise, the dragon got off him. Circulation started to go back to the areas it had landed on and he opened an eye, just to be safe.

The dragon was sitting at attention a few feet away. Crimson stood next to it, glaring at it.

"I'm sorry Sven." she extended a hand to help him up. "He's a little exuberant sometimes."

"Exuberant? He tried to kill me!" Sven exclaimed, allowing Crimson to help him to his feet.

"No he didn't. You kind of look like his old master. At least in shape." She stared at him for a moment.

"His master? What's that supposed to mean?" Sven asked, his voice cracking again.

"It doesn't matter. Forget this happened, okay?" Crimson looked slightly worried.

Sven shook his head. "Is that thing your _pet_?"

She sighed. "Yes. Sven, meet Toothless. Hold out your hand, Sven."

"No way!"

Crimson grabbed Sven's hand and dragged him over to the dragon, Toothless. The dark dragon leaned forward and allowed Sven to touch him.

"You're… you're friendly? You're not going to kill me?" Sven asked the dragon, whose face broke into an unmistakable grin.

Crimson rolled her eyes. "You're from those places where dragons are still considered fearsome and dangerous, aren't you?"

Sven stared at her for a bit before answering. "Yes. I guess you _could_ say that."

Crimson laughed. "My people have traveled for a long time and have been trying to change that. It's a sign that I'm far from home that I still meet people like you."

"Who are your…"

"There's a reason I keep secrets." Crimson interjected. "I don't know you, not really, so I can't tell you much. Except that I have to be secretive because there are people out there who would like nothing more to get their hands on Toothless. And me as well. I'm… I'm important."

"Important how?"

"Just important."

Sven paused for a moment. He had never met anyone quite like her. There was something to her, something very mysterious, that, were he to have the freedom to do so, he would love to figure out to its fullest extent.

"So…" Sven wasn't sure what to ask first for a moment. They stared at each other for a long time before he finally chose a question. "Why do you have a pet dragon?"

"Necessity." Crimson said, gently petting Toothless' head.

Sven raised an eyebrow. "Necessity? Why would you need a dragon?"

"I told you I travel. I actually have two dragons. Teggie, my other dragon, is hunting for fish right now. He likes to do it alone because Toothless here is a big mooch and doesn't leave any for him." Sven watched as Toothless rolled onto his back to allow her to rub his exposed belly.

"Why do you need two dragons?"

Crimson looked up, a mischievous grin on her face. "Toothless is for transportation and Teggie is for self defense. You can never have too much firepower."

Sven disagreed with that statement, a Night Fury seemed to be more than enough firepower for anyone, but he was hesitant to voice anything like that to a woman with two dragons at her beck and call.

"Your life sounds lonely." Sven said after a long pause. "I mean… do you have any friends?"

"Friends?" Crimson looked thoughtful. "No, I guess I don't. I mean other than Toothless and Teggie. It gets lonely sometimes but I deal with it. I love going to new places."

Sven looked down at his satchel for a moment. "You know, when I feel lonely, I like to write things down. Writing down what happened in the past sometimes helps me make sense of what's going on in the here and now. Like for instance, a few years ago, I broke my arm because I fell off a cliff. I wrote it down on some paper, you know, how much it hurt and how annoying it was to have to do everything carefully so I wouldn't hurt it more. Then two years later, I read over what I wrote and I was somewhere else and I had a chance to climb a cliff but I decided not to because of what I wrote. Well… I haven't broken my arm since. And I bet I would have forgotten I did that if I didn't write it down."

Crimson looked up, her eyebrow raised. "Do you always ramble on?"

Sven grinned. "Only when I have someone to talk to. I'm sorry, does that bother you?"

Crimson shook her head. "No. I'm just not used to it. I don't usually talk to many people, not anymore."

"Neither do I." Sven paused for a second, thinking very hard. "Do you want to be friends?"

"Friends?" Crimson froze mid-rub and Toothless squirmed a bit. "We don't really know each other."

"Maybe not. But we're lonely. We're not from around here. I can tell the only living thing you even talk to is your dragon. And yeah, that's probably okay for a little while but you can't beat someone to talk to who can talk back." Sven knew his reasoning was terrible but he really did want a friend.

"Who _are_ you?" Crimson asked, not rubbing Toothless' belly still.

"Someone lonely." Sven shrugged. "What do you want me to say?"

"That you're barking mad."

"That's a fair assumption."

"Seriously though, why do you want to be friends? You don't even know my name."

"I've been calling you Crimson."

Crimson scowled. "I hate it."

"That's okay; you don't have to like it, just so long as I have something to call you." Sven grinned at the sight of her disgust.

"I don't know if you've ever been told, Sven, but you're _annoying_." She began rubbing Toothless' belly again, thanks to an annoyed growl that very nearly drowned out what she had said.

"I have and I appreciate the reminder. But I can tell you like it." Sven crossed his arms, staring down at her. "You haven't been properly annoyed at someone in a long time, have you?"

Crimson shook her head. "Nope. Not for a long time. There was a boy where I came from who would ramble on and annoy me but I haven't heard from him since I left."

"Well then consider me your new annoying friend. Oh come on, I don't have anyone to talk to, it gets so boring." Sven opened his clear blue eyes even wider, trying to be cute.

Crimson laughed out loud at this. "You know, I used to do the same thing to get my dad to do what I wanted. It always worked. Now I can see how silly I looked."

"Silly, perhaps, but effective." Sven smiled smugly. "I can tell you're holding yourself back because you don't want the burden of trusting someone."

"How observant of you."

"So we're not friends. Nope. Not at all." Sven winked at her. "I should probably get going. But I'll be sure to be friendly to any dragon I meet along the way. I don't want you to shoot me in the heart for dragon cruelty."

"You know I would." said Crimson, looking slightly amused.

And with that, Sven merrily sauntered away to the village once more, promising himself that when he was free, he would look into getting his own dragon. And perhaps he would also go pester Crimson some more. He really did enjoy her company.


	5. Chapter Four: Exhilaration

_Hello my lovelies!_

_I realize it has been a while since you've gotten an update. I was so hopelessly blocked for the longest time and, in fact, I kind of still am but I thought it was about time for an update. Special thanks to __**Miss Pookamonga**__ for her assistance in ending this horrible writer's block. If you haven't read her story __The Honey and the Hatchet__, I highly recommend it. My brilliant friend helped me create the character of Matilda so really, it's kind of her character._

_Anyway, back to business. Here is Chapter 4!_

_~KateMarie999_

**Chapter Four: Exhilaration  
**

Gudrik's back ached. Sleeping on the soft soil didn't seem to do any good. He had been very excited to find this cove but now he wished dearly that he could get this raid over with. And with any luck, he could free himself of his burden, that idiotic boy who never did anything right.

Sometimes Gudrik caught himself staring at the boy, mostly in disgust but once in a while, in fascination. How could one person be so interesting yet so infuriating? Sven's speech was indicative of a large amount of intelligence but oftentimes, Gudrik had to repeat himself to get Sven to listen to him.

The reason Gudrik had decided to make this deal was a purely selfish reason. He merely wanted that boy off his ship. He was sick and tired of broken valuables that passed through his ever-slippery fingers. He was sick of that pathetic face he made when he messed up and the whole crew knew it. And he was tired of beating the boy. It didn't give him the fierce pleasure it used to because he knew that it would make no difference in his behavior whatsoever. But what he was most tired of was Sven's attitude. He was too damn nice. Every time they raided a village, Sven would act as though this was a personal insult to him. The boy wasn't pirate material and both he and Gudrik knew it.

"Gudrik," said a voice, snapping the man out of his momentary thoughtfulness. "Runa is here; she wants to tell you about the progress of the raid."

Gudrik, who simply could not make himself comfortable, finally sat up. "Send her in."

Runa entered the section of the cove Gudrik had claimed as his own. She was a short, stocky woman with rather harsh gray eyes. He thought, being female, that she was one of his best pirates. She could be ruthless but no one would suspect it. Everyone seemed to expect women to be the maternal type. Runa was an excellent actress but she had no aspirations toward motherhood whatsoever. She only wanted power and this made her all the more valuable to Gudrik's crew.

"Runa!" Gudrik said cheerfully, trying to act as though the aches and pains didn't exist. "How is the raid going? Is that boy behaving himself?"

"The raid is going well. The villagers are beginning to trust us. The boy has been very helpful." Runa reported in her typical harsh honesty. "He does have a tendency to disappear at random intervals."

Gudrik sighed. That stupid boy would never change. He could never understand why he half expected him to in the first place.

"Thank yeh, Runa." he said at last.

Runa nodded to him and left, presumably to go back to the village. Meanwhile Gudrik thought that it might be prudent to search for the boy who had given him so much trouble and _force_ him to stay put. Of course, one had to be sly to know exactly where that boy would wander off to. And Gudrik knew Sven pretty well now.

* * *

"Are you _sure_?" Sven asked shakily, taking a step back.

"Positive." Crimson laughed merrily at the look of abject terror on her friend's face. "You'll be perfectly safe. I'll be behind you."

Sven looked her up and down. She wasn't a very big person and he felt that if he were to fail, she would never be able to catch him. This thought made him even more nervous.

"I don't know…" he said at last, taking yet another step back.

"Come on, Sven, Toothless already loves you." said Crimson, walking up to him. "Teggie too." she added, looking down at her other dragon.

"I… I can't. What if I fall off?" Sven didn't like appearing weak to the fairer sex as a rule but Crimson was different somehow.

"You won't fall off. And if you do, Toothless will catch you. He always catches you." Crimson took his hand. For a woman of her stature, she had a rather firm grip. "Come on, let's go."

Sven stared at the dragon, who was grinning at him. Toothless had taken an immediate liking to him. It was rather inexplicable considering Sven had reacted fearfully from the moment they had met.

"Oh… all right. Just one flight." Sven stared up at the sky. "No one will see us, will they? I mean he is a Night Fury. Shouldn't we be doing this at night?"

"That would be a logical approach." Crimson agreed with a mischievous grin. "But since when have you known me to use logic?"

Sven smiled back at her. "You're scary sometimes, did you know?"

"And _you're_ a wimp." Crimson replied, winking at him.

"Already established." Sven said with a chuckle. "So how do I mount him?"

"Carefully." Crimson said simply, the sparkle of mischief in her eyes only growing brighter.

Sven rolled his eyes. "Oh thank you for telling me that. And here I was, all about to charge at and pounce on him."

"Oh you're a riot." Crimson said mordantly.

"And you clearly have a death wish." Sven replied, enjoying the banter.

"Just mount him before I hit you." Crimson balled her hand into a fist.

"Oh now that wouldn't be fair. I couldn't possibly hit you back." Sven said mockingly.

"I know. It's what makes chivalry such fun to mess with." Crimson pushed him to the dragon.

"All right, all right, I'm going." Sven laughed, unable to stall her any longer.

In truth, he actually wasn't afraid of riding Toothless at all anymore. He liked to put on a show for her. Egging her on was some of the most fun he'd had in years. It was rare that he met someone who could keep up with him and he was enjoying this immensely. As soon as he was free, he would follow her around and keep bugging her until she finally _did _hit him.

Sven carefully swung his leg around the dragon's back. The saddle was soft and beautifully stitched (except for one section that looked as though it had been re-stitched at least twice). Crimson and Teggie mounted the dragon behind him and gently patted its back.

"Let's go, bud!" she exclaimed, her voice echoing in his ears and causing him to wince slightly.

The dragon took off; his ebony wings slicing through the air at such a rate that Sven could hear it whistle. As they ascended into the air, he suddenly felt a wonderful feeling in his stomach. This was _wonderful_! This was _breathtaking_! It was almost as though a dormant part of him had awakened at last. He raised his arms into the air and began to laugh openly.

"This is amazing!" he cheered as the dragon pierced through the clouds.

"I'm glad you like it." Crimson said from behind him.

To say that Sven liked the flight was an understatement. For fifteen minutes, he was silent, taking deep breaths and enjoying the feeling of the cool air rippling through his shirt. He felt as though he could now touch the sky or become one with the gods.

"Sven…" Crimson finally broke the silence. "My name isn't Crimson."

Sven chuckled. "I know. I named you Crimson, remember?"

Crimson smacked him gently on the shoulder and Sven brightened even more at his success at finally making her hit him.

"My name is Kara." she said at last.

"I've never heard of you." Sven admitted. "I thought you said you were important."

"I am. Just not to Styr." Crimson (he was never going to get used to calling her Kara now) sighed. "Have you heard of Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third?"

"I've _had_ horrendous hiccups." Sven quipped, earning himself another smack. "The name is vaguely familiar. I may have heard it in passing. Why do you ask?"

"Because he's my dad. And I'm next in line to be chief of Berk." Crimson replied.

"Berk? You're from Berk?" Sven's mouth dropped open in surprise. "I've heard all about Berk. No one messes with them. They have some of the fiercest dragon killers in the world!"

"You're so misinformed." Crimson chuckled. "Berk made peace with the dragons before I was born. I mean where did you think I got the dragons, Scotland? Funny story about Scotland, apparently I look just like the princess… now look what you've done, I'm rambling."

"Ahh it's nice to know I've made an impression on you." Sven said, hoping his constant joking wouldn't bother her too much.

"Anyway, other islands near Berk have started using dragons. A few years ago, I killed a dragon by mistake and now the chief of another clan wants to kill me. So I can't be found, at least not until I get back to Berk. My parents aren't here to protect me. It's why I have to be so secretive." Crimson admitted.

"Why are you telling me this now?"

"Well we can't exactly be overheard." she said thoughtfully. "And… I want to trust someone."

Sven felt his heart sink into the pit of his stomach. He was about to steal from the village she seemed to be protecting and now she wanted to trust him? This was getting complicated.

"Kara," the word felt foreign but he needed to get used to it. "I have to confess something. I'm… a pirate."

Crimson laughed. "You're a what?"

"Well not exactly a pirate. I was sort of stolen and forced to be one. We're going to steal from Styr probably sometime this week. But the captain promised that, if I did everything they said, I would be freed. And now I'm here, flying away… I need to be free, Kara!" Sven sighed, closing his eyes and allowing the rushing air to continue to revive his senses. "I'm sorry I lied to you. Or… just didn't tell you the truth."

Crimson was silent for a while, thinking hard about this development. "I understand."

Sven turned around to face her. "You do?"

"Everyone has done things they wish they hadn't. Being a pirate isn't what you _are_, it's what you _do_." Crimson smiled serenely. "And I can tell you're not a pirate at heart."

"You're pretty cool, did you know that?" Sven asked her, grinning from ear to ear.

"Oh yes. I knew that." Crimson gently nudged his shoulder with her fist. "So are you."

* * *

Gudrik trampled through the wood, cursing the low hanging branches along the way. He had hoped that finding the boy would be easier than this.

"If I find that boy outside the village…" he said to himself. "I'll kill him."

He looked up, wondering if perhaps Sven had decided to climb the trees. He could be very agile when he needed to be, which would have been a great help to the pirates if he weren't so bloody soft.

Gudrik smiled slowly at the dark outline of a dragon descending above him. _Night Fury_. He got out a rope with heavy stones at the end and threw it as hard as he could at the dragon.

The rope found its target and Gudrik heard a cry of pain emanate from the dragon. He watched as it plummeted to the ground.


	6. Chapter Five: Sapphire

_Last Sunday, at Bible study, we watched How to Train Your Dragon. NO JOKE! We even had a discussion about the Biblical implications of the movie. If you want to know what we came up with, PM me. Who says Christians can't do awesome stuff?_

_Anyway, I'm sure you guys really hate me after that cliffhanger. Considering the fact that it's taking me longer to write these, it was probably pretty annoying. Well never fear! All your questions and more… may or may not be answered in this chapter. I'm not actually certain. It kind of depends on what questions you're asking. But the pressing questions are more than likely the ones that are answered here._

_Enough confusion! I actually came up with what happens in this chapter with no outside help which means (and I'm looking at a certain reader when I say this) no one knows what's going to happen until they read it._

_From now on, I will refer to "Crimson" as Kara._

_Don't forget to leave a review!_

_~KateMarie999_

**Chapter Five: Sapphire**

"Let's go, bud."

Matilda watched the archer and Sven took off into the sky. For a fleeting moment, she desperately wished she was on the back of the Night Fury sailing through the clouds. She watched as the young man she obsessed over raised his arms and presumably shouted for joy. How she wished she could make him as happy as he had made her.

Since their encounter in the woods, she had been extra careful not to let him see her again. He probably thought she was insane. But she had watched him interact with the archer (he called her Crimson though Matilda was fairly certain that was a nickname). He would stomp through the woods every day at the same time and meet her there. And now they were flying together.

Matilda had grown up around dragons but unlike this Crimson person, she had never been allowed to ride one. Only boys were given dragons. Girls were there for one purpose- producing more boys. Her brother was given his own dragon on his tenth birthday. She enviously watched him train it. But she was not permitted to even touch it. As she watched the men and boys in her clan fly around on their dragons, whooping and cheering with glee, she wished more than anything else that she could fly as well.

She climbed a nearby tree and tried to watch the flight. But the outline of the dragon became dimmer until she could no longer see it. She sighed, thinking back to her son at home. If she didn't get back to him, he would be taught to hate her. She couldn't bear to let that happen.

"Oh Leif." she muttered to herself. "I miss you so much. I _will _get back to you. I promise."

She wiped a tear out of her eye. Crying was weakness. A woman should never display emotion in public lest her man suffer the embarrassment of that sort of reputation. She had been taught this from a young age. But now she had no man so, she reasoned, she had no reputation to uphold. There was that and the fact that she wasn't anywhere near home now. She allowed a few more tears to slip down her cheeks before stemming the flow with her sleeve and forcing the emotions back down.

Her eyes were more focused without the tears. She noticed the outline of the Night Fury descending at last and wondered vaguely if Sven and "Crimson" had had a romantic moment. This thought filled her with despair. Their banter certainly sounded like flirting at times. Suddenly, she saw a rope with rocks at the ends fly toward the dragon. She wanted to call out and warn them but too late- it found its mark.

"Sven!" she cried, not caring whether or not he heard her.

She nearly fell out of the tree and bolted toward the clearing where the dragon had fallen. She knew she was a bit closer than its attacker and she was also very quick. If she hurried, she could possibly save Sven's life. And if the archer died, perhaps she could get her son back.

What she saw in the clearing made her stop running for a second and stare. Sven and the archer were nowhere to be seen. Instead, a Night Fury, glittering deep blue in the sunlight, lay groaning in pain. She hesitated for a moment. She didn't remember Toothless being blue at all. The only explanation was that this was a _different_ Night Fury. The thought made her wonder whether or not to intervene. On the one hand, Matilda had always found dragons fascinating and she had never seen a Night Fury up close. On the other hand, she felt rather nervous about approaching it armed with only a small dagger.

She swallowed her fear (emotions _were _weakness, after all) and carefully walked toward the dragon. She remembered something she had overheard her father tell her brother. "Dragons sense fear," he had said, "so be confident."

All her confidence seemed to seep out of her through her mouth with the deep breaths she was taking. Trembling slightly, she finally reached the dragon. Its dark green eyes met with her brown ones and for a moment, she feared she would lose her nerve. But she knew she didn't have much time so she forced herself to cut the ropes that restrained the dragon's movements.

When she freed it, the Night Fury spread its wings and took off, glittering magnificently in the sun as though its scales were made of dark blue sapphires. Matilda heard the cracking of twigs and branches getting louder and scampered away so she wouldn't be seen. She saw a rather large man with dark, coarse hair enter the clearing. He held up the rope and inspected where she had cut it.

"Damn!" he exclaimed. "I knew I needed a new rope."

He stomped away. Matilda exhaled slowly in relief. She briefly wondered about this new Night Fury. Weren't they supposed to be rare? She had heard on more than one occasion that there was only one whose location was known and she highly suspected that particular dragon was Toothless. She looked up into the sky just in time to see Toothless carry the archer and Sven down in the distanced and sighed. How she wanted to be with them…

* * *

"Did you hear something?" Kara asked, squinting at a disturbance below them.

Sven stared down but the clouds were too thick to be able to make out anything specific. He did see a disturbance on the ground but he couldn't tell what was going on.

"It's probably nothing." he said, shrugging.

"Yeah… yeah you're probably right." said Kara but Sven thought she still looked worried. "So… I guess I should ask what you're planning to do about the pirate situation."

"Do?" Sven scratched his head. "I wasn't going to _do_ anything."

"Oh for the love of… Sven, if it were up to you, you'd just stay home and lie around!" Kara threw up her arms in frustration. "But you've got a problem and you can't run away from it."

"The only thing I can do is just go along with it. I've done just about everything except kill anyone. I'm definitely not a shining example of all that is good in the world." Sven hung his head a bit.

Kara thought about this for a second. "Have you ever thrown mashed potatoes up against the wall?"

"What? No…"

"Have you ever plucked a rooster?"

Sven raised an eyebrow at his friend. "No… what does that have to do with being a pirate? That's just nonsense! Why even bring it up?"

Kara grinned. "To cheer you up. I don't want you being all depressed when we're coming up with a brilliant plan to free you and make sure Styr stays safe."

Sven's face broke into a huge smile. "Thanks, Kara."

Kara leaned forward and wrapped her arms around Sven's chest, squeezing him tightly. Sven suddenly felt extremely emotional and had to force himself not to tear up. This was the first real hug he had ever received. He gingerly put lifted his arms and placed them around Kara's body, hoping that his gratitude would seep through his fingers so she knew how much this meant to him. He placed his head on her shoulder and couldn't stop two tears from squeezing their way out of his eyes and into her vivid red locks.

Toothless began to descend a moment later, apparently growing tired of the antics of the young adults on his back. The two broke apart at last, Sven trying to hide his emotional reaction and Kara trying to hide the fact that she _saw_ his emotional reaction. Sven turned around again and watched the ground come steadily closer until Toothless gently landed in the same clearing in which they had taken off. The two youths slid off his back.

"Well… I should get back to the village." Sven said a moment later, after he and Kara stared awkwardly at each other.

"Yes you should." Kara agreed, loosening Toothless' harness so he would be more comfortable.

A loud groaning noise came from a point not far from them. They looked at each other for a moment.

"Come on!" Kara exclaimed, taking his hand and yanking him deeper in the woods.

Sven, growing used to her forcefulness, followed as fast as he could. The two of them sprinted toward the source of the groaning, which was getting louder. The branches of several trees were snapped off in such a way that they thought that something must have crashed here. They crept forward, making sure they didn't sneak up on whatever it is. Toothless and Teggie followed behind them, not nearly as cautious and making a lot more noise. Kara turned around to try to get them to be quiet but they didn't listen. Sven was starting to think that dragons, just like Vikings, had stubbornness issues as well.

Suddenly, a blue blur shot forward, knocking Sven over and leering down at him. His eyes widened in horror.

_Night Fury_.

"T-Toothless?" he asked stupidly, a bit dazed.

But he could tell this dragon wasn't the dragon with which he was acquainted. It had dark blue scales that shimmered beautifully in the sunlight. Its eyes were darker than the other Night Fury's as well. And, though it could have been his imagination, he thought it was a bit smaller than the other dragon. It looked at him quizzically, as though unsure of what he was.

"No…" Kara whispered. "That's not Toothless."

The dragon looked up and froze in place. A moment later, it stepped off of him. Sven looked up and saw it walk slowly toward Toothless, who was making an odd sort of grunting noise. He sat up, still a bit dazed.

"I've never seen another Night Fury before." Kara breathed, staring at the creature with fascination.

"Me neither." said Sven, mostly to remind her that he was still there.

"It's blue…" Kara walked forward slowly, holding out her hand. "I… I think it's female."

After looking her over for a few seconds, the other Night Fury brushed her head against Kara's hand as though accepting her at last.

"Why do Night Furies feel the need to pounce all over me?" Sven muttered to himself as he finally stood up, attempting to brush the dirt off his back.

"Hey girl…" Kara was saying to the strange dragon. "Sven, she's hurt."

Sven carefully approached the dragon and saw what Kara had meant. The dragon's leg was sliced open and, while it was mostly scabbed over, blood still trickled from the open wound.

"Do you have a bandage?" he asked Kara, wishing he carried something of use in his satchel.

"Yeah I do." Kara pulled out a roll of bandages. "You know, Sven… I think I have an idea." she said as she bent over and wrapped them around the dragon's leg.

Sven, who was watching Toothless in fascination (he was making a raspy grunting noise while going low to the ground) turned to look at Kara.

"What kind of idea?" he asked her, bending over to help.

She slapped his hand out of the way. He rolled his eyes. Once she hit him for the first time, she seemed to be enjoying the opportunities to hit him again.

"Well I mean two dragons aren't enough firepower to take out a bunch of pirates." Kara looked up at him, her eyes glittering with the familiar spark of mischief. "But three dragons might be just the thing."

The corners of Sven's mouth twitched as he started to figure out what she meant. "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying once Sapphire is well again, I think I can make sure you're free and Styr's safe."

"Sapphire?"

"That's her name." Kara stared into the dragon's eyes. "And you're a cutie, aren't you? Look at Toothless! I think he's smitten."

Sven chuckled at the sight of the black Night Fury inching closer to the blue one. Sapphire raised her head and sent a small shot of fire into his face. Toothless lowered his head, looking a little embarrassed.

"I don't think Sapphire feels the same way." Sven laughed, patting Toothless' head in consolation.

Kara laughed merrily at the sight of her dragon's rejection. Toothless looked irritated with her and sighed.

"Listen, Sven, let me tell you my idea." Kara said a minute later, motioning for him to come closer.

* * *

He was getting closer to her. Matilda felt a twinge of despair as the young man she liked so much inched his way over to this red headed woman who had made her life so difficult. But then again, he had only met her once.

The archer was telling him something important, she could tell. His face lit up as she spoke, though Matilda couldn't hear her words. The dragon Matilda had saved was being bandaged and the archer's dragon was acting very oddly. She tried to get closer without making any noise but the dry branches on the ground made this impossible. So she had to settle for watching them talk.

A moment later, Matilda turned away as Sven gave the archer a huge hug. Were he any stronger, he'd probably be crushing her ribs.

It was stupid, Matilda thought, to be so enamored with a person she didn't really know. Yes, she had been watching him but he didn't know that.

Her instincts were beginning to kick in. The despair quickly turned into rage. That _damn _archer was the reason Leif was taken from her. The archer was the reason she and Sven couldn't be together. For the first time in her life, Matilda _hated_ this woman. No. Hate was too mild a word.

All Matilda knew was that this archer must die.


	7. Chapter Six: The Trap

_If you can believe it, this story is coming to a close. Thank you all for your support. This may not be as popular as __Fight or Flight__ but those who stuck with it mean the world to me. You all are amazing! The third and final story in this series is in development and I will reveal its name soon (you know, when I come up with one). I promise you that all your favorite characters, including a few new ones from the previous story, will be back._

_I haven't got any other news so here you go!_

_~KateMarie999_

**Chapter Six: The Trap**

_Dear mom and dad,_

_I hope that Pipsqueak finds you well. I miss you two so much! I was so happy to hear about Camicazi and Madguts getting married! I know that Madguts and I have a history but it's all in the past. I recently found some pieces of paper I wrote on during the time Madguts and I had our little fling. Good thing I put them in a metal container during our daring escape from Berk on Fireworm. Remember that? I think I'm going to remember it until the day I die. You were right, dad, I was stupid._

_I'm so far from home, the people here have never even heard of you! You should come here on vacation sometime. Everyone's nice and no one will act weird around you two. It's a place called Styr. I mentioned in my last letter that I was going out in that direction. It's south of Berk so it's quite a bit warmer here. But don't worry, I plan on coming back! I wish Pipsqueak could fly faster because I have wanted to tell you all about my time here but it's taken him a ridiculously long time for him to come back so I could send you this letter!_

_I met someone here. His name is Sven. Now I know what you're thinking (dad, I'm looking at YOU) but it's not like that. I mean he's kind of adorable but he reminds me too much of the stories you used to tell me about when you were a teenager. And the last thing I want to do is fall in love with someone just like you, dad! I'd never get a moment of peace! There's that and he also can be really annoying. I've had to hit him several times (I think I'm finally starting to act like you, mom). As it turns out, he's a pirate! I've come up with a brilliant plan to free him and save Styr from the pirates' threat but I'd rather tell you in person. I'd like to see the face you make when you realize that your daughter is even more brilliant than you remember!_

_Dad, you'll be really excited about this, I actually managed to find another Night Fury! As it turns out, they come in different colors too! Who would have thought! This one is blue and female so Toothless is all over her. I call her Sapphire and I think I may have found a dragon I can call all mine. Did you know that when Night Furies are attracted to each other, they do a mating dance? I think watching Toothless dance like a maniac in front of her may be the funniest thing I've ever seen. I wish you were here to see it, dad, you'd never let him live it down. Sven and I have been taking care of Sapphire because she got injured and though it's a slow process, we're really getting to know each other._

_Now don't freak out about this (especially you, dad), but I think someone has been spying on me. I keep seeing glimpses of this girl in the woods near where I'm camped. I've never seen her before but I've seen her hanging around me on several occasions. I think she might be a spy for one of our enemies so I'm hoping that she doesn't find a way to call her clan to come attack me. Toothless, Teggie, Sven, and Sapphire are pretty amazing but we can't defeat a whole army._

_I've been giving it a lot of thought and I've decided that I'm going to come back to Berk when I get all this pirate stuff figured out. The spy makes me sort of nervous and I want to make sure I'm in the company of my family and friends if something happens. I know you will always protect me._

_I can't wait to see you two again! News from home always brings a smile to my face. Write back as soon as you can!_

_Love,_

_Kara_

Kara Haddock sighed deeply as she tied this message to Pipsqueak's foot. He hopped up and down impatiently, as though eager to take the message to her parents. She was thankful for his enthusiasm but he really was a slow dragon. Unfortunately, he was the only one who would do the job properly. Other Terrible Terrors would accidentally light the message on fire or soak it in the sea.

"All right, go on!" Kara said as she finished securing the note to his leg.

She handed him a whole fish as a reward and he eagerly gulped it down. He then spread his wings and flew away.

* * *

_Crack!_

Gudrik sat up, grabbing a nearby sword, and looked around. It was still pitch black in the cove. He wondered briefly what time it was and whether or not it was even nighttime anymore.

"Who's there?" he called. "I know you're there, even if I can't see yeh. Show yerself!"

He lit a torch and held it up. In the shadows, he saw a teenage girl with long, brown hair and large brown eyes. She took a step forward, staring at the ground as though wishing she were anywhere but here.

"What're yeh doin' here?" he exclaimed, irritated at being interrupted.

"I wanted to tell you something." said the girl, taking a step forward.

"Whatever it is, I don't think it's any use to me." Gudrik pointed to the door. "Out! And if yeh tell anyone about this cove, I'll kill yeh. Understand?"

The girl's brow furrowed. "I wanted to tell you about Sven."

Gudrik eyed her curiously, lowering his hand. "How'd yeh know about Sven? Yeh been spyin' on us?"

The girl nodded. "I've been spying on someone else, actually, but she and Sven have been meeting up in secret. I saw you land here. I thought you'd want to know what he's been doing."

"Meetin' up with a girl? Should'a known he'd do somethin' that stupid." Gudrik smacked the ground with his fist. He then looked up, his eyes narrowed. "Why should I believe yeh?"

"I thought perhaps we could help each other out. You get Sven to cooperate, maybe? He doesn't listen to you." the girl looked very nervous. "And I need the woman he meets up with dead."

Gudrik laughed. "Kill the woman, eh? Sounds simple."

"Not really. They have two Night Furies now. They might put up a fight." the girl took a deep breath. "And I want to come with you when you leave."

"Come with me? Yeh don't seem like yeh'd be much of a pirate."

The girl leaned forward eagerly. "If you like, I could take you to where I come from. We have many treasures and I know exactly where to get them. I know the chief personally."

Gudrik smiled menacingly. "Offer like that, how can I refuse? But how can we defeat those dragons?"

"I think I know." said the girl. "But it'll be difficult."

"Difficult, I can do." Gudrik patted the ground next to him, indicating that he wanted her to sit. "What's yer name, girl?"

"Matilda." The girl walked over to Gudrik and sat down

* * *

"Sven!" Gudrik stomped over to the blonde pirate, who was only coming back for a few items he had left behind.

"Gudrik." Sven nodded to show respect.

"Never mind that. Tonight is the night. As soon as everyone in the village goes to sleep, Freystein and Runa will lead us to the village and show us where the valuables are hidden. I need yeh to be a lookout, tell us when everyone is asleep." Gudrik stared at him, making him very uncomfortable. "Yeh do this and yeh're free, boy."

Sven nodded, not trusting himself to speak. As soon as Gudrik let him go, he walked nonchalantly to the mouth of the cove. As soon as he was out of sight, he sprinted toward Kara's camp.

He arrived there in record time. Kara was tenderly putting clean bandages on Sapphire's injured leg. He stopped for a moment, completely out of breath.

"Kara!" he called, leaning over and putting his hands on his knees.

Kara looked up at him. "Sven! What's wrong?"

If he had been in the right frame of mind, he would have been flattered that she looked so concerned at the sight of him so out of breath and covered in sweat.

"Tonight… after the village… goes to sleep…" Sven looked up. "Have any water?"

Kara got out a small container of water and handed it to her friend. He took huge gulp, which made him cough and sputter, and continued.

"I'm lookout. Kara, we need to do this now. We still have the element of surprise. How's Sapphire?"

"She's better. I think she can handle it." Kara tickled her dragon affectionately and Sapphire grinned at her delicate touch. "But I still haven't finished showing you how to control Toothless."

"Forget about that now. I know what I need to know. Where is he, anyway?" Sven looked around as though expecting Toothless to come bounding forward.

"He and Teggie are both looking for fish. In different beaches. I swear, they can be so stubborn some… what was that?" Kara looked up, suddenly alert.

Sven, who hadn't heard or seen anything, looked around. There was some movement in the trees. He took a step forward, looking at the source of the movement, when he heard a shriek and a scuffle behind him. He spun around and his mouth dropped open in surprise.

Four pirates had grabbed Kara and were holding her still. Sapphire, at the sight of her friend's distress, tried to fight them but six pirates had snuck up on her as well and were restraining her.

"Stop!" Sven cried, trying to run forward.

He felt rough hands grab the back of his shirt and pin his arms behind his back. Gudrik strutted out in front of him, a look of triumph on his face.

"Plotting something, eh?" Gudrik's voice echoed in his ears. "Knew yeh'd fall into our trap."

Sven struggled but it was no use. The pirates who were holding him were too strong and he was already tired from all the running. Gudrik walked over to Kara now, who was looking furious and struggling so fiercely, it took all four men to hold her still.

"Dunno why yeh like her." He reached up and touched Kara's cheek. "She's not very pretty."

"I could say the same about you." Kara said through her teeth.

Gudrik laughed. It was a horrible sound under normal circumstances and the magnification of the sound in the middle of the forest didn't help.

"Feisty too! Never thought I'd see the day!" Gudrik looked at the ground. "And she's got a bow and arrows!" he reached down and picked up a green tinted one. It made a hissing noise and he dropped it. "Lethal arrows, looks like." He looked up at Sven. "I'll make yeh a deal, boy."

Sven glared at the man who had made his life so terrible.

Gudrik held the bow and arrows up to his face. "Shoot her." He commanded, dropping them at his feet.

"No!"

"Shoot her and I'll free yeh. No questions asked." Gudrik's face was now centimeters from his. "But if yeh don't, I'll kill yeh both. Your choice."


	8. Chapter Seven: The Final Raid

_I read a really pretty, descriptive Hiccstrid fan fiction before writing this so my descriptions and dialogue are top notch today! Plus, even though I haven't gotten complaints, I want to start making these chapters longer so I thought I'd practice with this one. It's now the longest chapter I've ever written! Kind of pathetic considering some of the other ones I've seen on here but the story just… ended!_

_I had this completed on October 5__th__, but Pooka told me I wasn't allowed to post it because she wasn't caught up. If you're upset about this later update, please direct your angry comments to her. And then read the latest chapter of The Honey and the Hatchet because it's really good. She still hasn't actually caught up but by the time she reads this, she'll probably be just as behind as she was before with all the stuff I've had to withhold to give her some time. Sorry, Pooka!  
_

_~KateMarie999_

* * *

**Chapter Seven: The Final Raid  
**

It was the moment she had been waiting for.

Sven stood there, bow and arrows at his feet, ordered to kill the woman who had made everything so complicated. Matilda couldn't help noticing his trembling fingers as she watched him bend down and pick up the bow and a few arrows. It was a sacrifice that had to be made. The archer must die so that she and Sven could be together.

"Sven, what are you doing?" cried the archer, freezing in shock.

Sven stared at her for a bit, his blue eyes clouding over with terror. For a moment, they stood there staring at each other. The pirates waited, their eyes darting between the two. Why didn't he just shoot her? What was he waiting for?

Finally, he took a deep breath and broke the silence. "I'm sorry." he said, his hands shaking even more.

As the archer closed her eyes and cringed slightly, Matilda leaned forward. This was it. Sven pulled back the string and shot the arrow forward.

There was a howl of pain as one of the people in the small clearing was hit by the acid tainted arrow. But it wasn't the archer. It was one of her captors.

"Oh darn," Sven said, now smiling. "I guess I don't have very good aim."

Gudrik seized him roughly by the hair and pulled his face upward to face his.

"Yeh're gonna wish yeh hadn't done that." he whispered menacingly. "Lock them up!"

The pirates clutched their prisoners and led them away. Matilda stood stock still, unsure of what this meant. Surely they would free Sven. They had to; they had made a deal. She watched as the dragon struggled against her captors, crying out for the person who had cared for her. They tied her up so tightly, there was no way she could escape from the bonds. Matilda decided to follow the pirates toward the ship, thinking that perhaps she could negotiate with the ship's captain. He had made a deal, after all.

* * *

"Let go of me!" Kara shouted, struggling against her captors. "I haven't done anything!"

"Like Hel yeh haven't!" the man she suspected was the leader called back to her. "Yeh done more than yeh realize."

She was unceremoniously thrown into a sort of holding cell with Sven. As he locked the door, the leader leered through the bars.

"Yeh lovebirds enjoy yer stay. We got a village to raid." the man began to laugh as he walked away, his footsteps causing the floor to vibrate slightly.

"Lovebirds, really?" Sven muttered, standing up and grabbing the bars. "Is that the best you can come up with?" he shouted at the retreating back of his captor.

"I don't know about you but I personally don't think we'd be a very good couple." Kara said leaning against the bars. "You're annoying and I'm awesome."

"Oh very funny. You know you're only awesome because of my influence." Sven kicked the bars as hard as he could.

Kara watched him hop up and down with amusement. "Did that help?"

Sven glowered at her. "No."

"Well then let's cease with the theatrics and come up with a way to get ourselves out of here." Kara said, looking remarkably calm.

"Have a lot of experience with this, have you?" Sven raised an eyebrow at his friend.

"Actually, yes." Kara replied, still watching him with slight amusement.

Sven stared at her for a few seconds. "Do I want to know why you've been locked up in the past?"

Kara sighed in exasperation. "Daughter of one of the most well-known Vikings ever? Plus, I make such a good prisoner. I don't loiter."

Sven rattled the bars again, unable to come up with a good response to that statement.

"If you're finished freaking out about this, I'm sure I can get us out of here." Kara said at last, now inspecting her nails.

He looked down at her. She seemed almost bored, as though she was sitting in some kind of twisted waiting room. He couldn't believe how calm she was being but he supposed growing up with famous parents (especially considering the reason they were famous) was a contributing factor. She finally looked up at him, her green eyes sparkling with what he would later call (much to her irritation) the glint of brilliance. He could always tell if she had a good plan before she had time to open her mouth. He briefly wondered if his eyes did that when he got a good idea. Then he remembered that he didn't ever have any good ideas, otherwise they wouldn't be in this situation.

"What are you plotting?" he asked her, watching a smile slowly form on her lips.

She took out a small stick of metal which she held up for him to see.

"Sven, does this little metal stick look dangerous to you?" she asked, her eyes almost glowing now.

This _had _to be a trick question. Sven faltered, staring at it but not quite able to answer. Her smile widened at his look of abject confusion.

"The answer is no. I mean unless I stick it in your eye, there's not much I can do with it." Kara turned the stick over in her fingers, watching it shine in the tiny bit of sunlight that seeped in through the cracks in the ceiling.

"What does this stick thing have to do with anything?" he asked at last when she didn't continue.

"This is my best weapon other than Toothless and Teggie." she said, holding it closer to his face.

This had to be a joke.

"Oh really?" he asked, crossing his arms. "What do you do, sneak up on people and stick them with it?"

Kara laughed. "It's much more subtle than that. You may have noticed that, despite the fact that all my other weapons were confiscated, this remained on my person."

"Yeah… so?"

Kara rolled her eyes now. "So not only is it easy to hide, it also looks innocuous. Would you be scared of it?"

_Gods, _was she cryptic. It was starting to get very annoying.

"Well yes but only because it's you." he replied, smirking. "You're crazy."

Rather than be offended by this, she beamed at him.

"Watch carefully. What I'm going to do is brilliant and you should definitely take note." She winked at him.

He slapped his forehead. "Oh darn, if only I hadn't forgotten my charcoal."

Kara laughed as she turned away from him and inserted the stick into the lock.

"It took me a long time to figure out how to master this little trick." she said as she moved the stick around. "All locks are different. You just need to find the right spot."

_Click!_

"And it'll open." she grinned as the door swung open.

Sven's mouth dropped open. "How… how did you…"

"I was thrown in a Scottish dungeon for impersonating the princess. I found this bit of metal off of a skeleton. Poor fellow had the means to escape with him the whole time. I guess it takes a special mind to see all the possibilities." She put the bit of metal back into her pocket.

Sven stared at the open door. "How are we going to get past the pirates?"

Kara's grin faded. "Well I got us out of here. You're the one who lived with them; it's your turn to come up with a brilliant idea."

* * *

"But you _promised_!"

"Did yeh really think we'd go along with yer little deal?" Gudrik laughed. "We just needed yeh to tell us where Sven was hidin'."

Matilda stared into Gudrik's cold eyes. She had been tricked! This couldn't be happening. Not again… why couldn't anyone ever tell her the truth?

"You used me." she whispered, shaking with fury.

Gudrik walked up to her, putting his face inches away from her. Gods, he smelled awful, didn't he ever bathe?

"Oh that's only the beginning, love. Yeh will tell us where your tribe is located and we'll use you as a hostage." He smiled horribly. "After we kill Sven and that girl."

"No… please…"

"I knew Sven was a liability. 'Course I could have killed him. Thought maybe he'd change. Now I know better than to spare anyone who gets in my way." He looked up at the other pirates. "Throw her in the cell with the other two! And stand outside to guard them. I don't want them plotting with each other."

Rough hands seized Matilda's body as she was forced down below.

* * *

"Hurry up!" Kara said, hearing the thunderous footsteps getting nearer.

"I am hurrying. I… I think they're nearby." Sven looked up as dust fell from the boards on the ceiling from the men above. "Get back in the cell!"

"But…"

"They're coming! You can get us out later, just get back in the cell!"

Kara and Sven hurried over to the cell and had just managed to swing the door shut when they saw a pirate arrive, dragging a teenage girl with them. The girl was screaming at them, tears pouring down her grimy face.

Freystein opened the cell and threw the girl inside. He slammed it behind them.

"Don't think about getting any ideas." he said, sneering at them. "I'll be watching."

The girl gasped for air, holding her upper arm where it had been squeezed by the pirates. Kara and Sven stared at her for a moment in confusion. Comprehension suddenly dawned on Sven's face.

"I know you." He said to the girl. "We met before! A while ago, in the woods! Are you okay?"

The girl shook her head, still crying silently and avoiding his gaze. He crouched down and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Everything's going to be fine. I promise." he said, looking straight at her.

The girl still refused to speak. Kara rolled her eyes and produced a small phial from her other pocket.

Eyeing the guard, Sven pointed to the phial and mouthed "what's that?"

Kara crouched down and whispered in his ear. "Zippleback gas."

"Do I need to ask _why _you have that?" Sven whispered back.

"I carry a little something from every kind of dragon." She smiled at the look of irritation coupled with awe on his face. "You can ask why later. But stand back."

She pitched the phial right at Freystein, who had been assigned to guard them. It hit him in the back of his head, shattering the phial and sending the gas all around his head. He tried waving his arms and running away from the gas but it was too late: he had breathed in too much. He slumped over in a dead faint.

"Gotcha." Kara muttered in satisfaction as she withdrew the metal stick from her pocket once more.

"Have you got Changewing acid?" the girl spoke at last.

Kara looked over at her, frowning. "Of course."

The girl stared pointed at a slightly weaker area on the wall of the ship outside of their cage (which was lined with iron to prevent escape).

"Pour it there. We can kick it in and swim away." she said, blushing slightly.

"That… that's brilliant. Thanks!" Kara smiled and poured the acid on the rotting boards.

There was a hissing noise and the wood burned away. Kara kicked it and created a hole big enough for one person to jump through. She jumped through first.

_Splash!_

The water felt frigid against Kara's skin as she was submerged. Sven followed, landing in the water right next to her and splashing her face yet again. She smacked him in the shoulder and, despite the tense situation, he couldn't stop himself from smiling in satisfaction. The girl followed, looking terrified.

They swam over near the beach, keeping themselves hidden below the boat. Unless they were mistaken, they didn't think anyone knew of their escape yet. Their suspicions were correct. Night was falling and Gudrik was instructing his crew to carry heavy crates with them. Sven recognized those crates. They would hold the plunder from the village.

"We need the dragons." Kara whispered to them.

Sven nodded once. The girl remained silent, watching the pirates with apprehension.

"We know where Sapphire is." Sven said, pointing to the wood. "We just need to get on shore without them noticing."

"We'll just have to swim quietly over to another shore." Kara said, shrugging. "No other way."

Sven frowned. That would take time. But it was their only chance. He submerged himself fully in the water, holding his breath as long as he could while trying to cover as much distance as possible. He could feel Kara swimming right next to him in the same manner and the girl behind them. They only brought up their heads to take quick breaths before diving in again. He hated the darkness of the water, made even darker by nightfall. He felt as though the darkness was squeezing him around the middle though he knew that was probably his lungs painfully constricting.

They reached the shore several minutes later and collapsed on the beach, freezing cold and feeling completely exhausted. Kara wondered if she'd ever be able to get up but she forced her exhausted muscles to support her weight. Sven and the girl followed, both hunched over slightly. The girl rung out her sopping wet hair and the water it produced was dirtier than the water in the sea. Their breath was visible, rising above them with every exhalation as though teasing them with their brief warmth. Shivering violently, they made their way into the woods.

Since none of them knew exactly where they were going and where to find Sapphire, they wandered for an hour, searching the darkening woods for any sign of their dragons. Before long, they could hear a funny grunting noise. The girl stopped dead in her tracks, looking around in terror, but Kara and Sven smiled.

"Teggie!" Kara called.

The tiny blue dragon puffed out a small flame from his mouth, allowing them to be able to see much better, and pounced into Kara's arms, grinning and licking her on the face.

"All right, Teggie, can you help us find Toothless and Sapphire?" Sven asked, rubbing the dragon's head with his knuckles in a way he knew would give Teggie the most comfort possible.

Teggie looked around for a moment before sending out several sparks to their left.

"Good boy!" Kara said and he grunted with pleasure.

With Teggie's assistance, they found Sapphire in the wood, still tied up. Kara could see a spot of blood on the bandage and thought that rope's pressure may have reopened the wound. Without a knife, they were useless. Teggie, however, seemed to have a different idea. He leapt onto the Night Fury and chewed at her bonds. It was slow work but he finally freed her. Kara put her arms around the dragon's neck, hugging her close.

"Doesn't that feel better?" she whispered affectionately to her, stroking her head.

Kara quickly mounted her dragon and pulled Sven up with her. She extended a hand to the girl as well.

"No." said the girl, shaking her head. "You go. I have to be somewhere else."

In any other circumstance, the two of them would have been confused by this but they decided not to press the issue. As soon as Teggie climbed onto Sapphire's back, she stretched out her wings and flew into the night sky.

They spotted Toothless on the other end of the island. He roared happily when they arrived, probably wondering what had taken them so long. Sven dismounted.

"Sven, what are you doing? Toothless needs someone who knows how to control his tail." Kara said, trying to stop him from mounting the other Night Fury.

Sven used his foot to extend the tail. He smiled. "Piece of cake."

Kara rolled her eyes. Sven was stubborn; she knew she wouldn't be able to win this argument. They flew to her camp where she picked up some more arrows and a spare bow and then headed toward the ship.

"What are we going to do when we get there?" Sven called to her, his voice sounding strange in the air.

Kara shrugged. "I make this up as I go along."

Sven laughed. "That would explain a lot!"

She gave him a quick glare but he could see her eyes sparkling with amusement. He smiled in satisfaction. Yes, he was definitely going to live to annoy her continuously. Somehow he felt as though it was his job.

When the pirate ship became visible, Kara looked over at him, still unsure of what to do. The ship was deserted; the pirates were raiding the village. Sven suddenly remembered something about his lifelong captors and smiled.

"Destroy the ship!" he called to her.

Kara peered down at the ship and comprehension dawned on her as well. She instructed Sapphire to send a plasma blast into the ship. It burst into flames. Toothless sent a plasma blast into the flaming wreckage and decimated everything. They could see weapons falling into the water never to be seen again. Treasures that had probably once been extremely valuable sank to the bottom of the sea. Sven flew up close to Kara.

"They don't take many weapons on the raids. They usually use those for other pirates." He laughed, suddenly realizing what they had caused. "The villagers will wake up, find their town robbed, and then come after them. And they'll have nowhere to run and barely any weapons!"

Kara laughed as well. They watched the ship burn and sink into the water. At this point, it was doubtful anything could be salvaged. Sven threw back his head and laughed into the open air. He was _free_!

* * *

Matilda stood at the edge of a cliff, her long brown hair starting to dry now. In the distance, she could see the figure of a dragon coming closer and closer to her. She shut her eyes, hoping that she wouldn't have to suffer long.

The dragon landed next to her and a dark figure dismounted, wearing a helmet with spikes down the middle. He walked slowly over to her, looking around and taking in his surroundings.

"Using a Terrible Terror as a messenger. Very clever." said the man who had arrived.

Matilda nodded. "I saw the woman do it. It seemed like a good idea."

"Yes…" the man said, now leering at her. "It was. Where is she?"

"She's got another Night Fury." Matilda said, recoiling.

"That was in the letter. _Where is she_?" he repeated, losing patience.

Matilda began to tremble. "I can take you to her camp."

The man waved her comment aside. "I want the woman who killed my dragon." he said, his voice growing dangerously low.

"She… she's going back to Berk!" Matilda said, taking a few steps away from the man.

The man faced her. "Never thought you'd be useful, my dear sister." He said the word like a curse. "But this changes everything."

"Ch-changes?"

"I'm not going to tell you about my plans. But get back home. If I get my revenge, I'll let you have your precious son back." He spat at her. "And I think the Outcasts have been eager to declare war on them for quite some time."

She nodded, feeling completely helpless. The man mounted his dragon and flew away. She knew she would be home in a few days if she left right away. She had to get her son back. There was no other choice.

* * *

Sven had nothing left. Everything he owned, including his satchel, had been destroyed in the ship. But it was a small price to pay for his freedom. Kara insisted they wait until Sapphire's leg had healed enough before leaving. He had _hated _waiting but he did finally get word about what had happened after they had destroyed the ship.

The residents of Styr were a lot tougher than Sven had thought. When they found their treasures missing, they soon located the pirates and battled with them. As it turned out, they had a large army who attacked the pirates as soon as they realized they were trapped. Gudrik had been the only casualty. The rest of the pirates were locked up and the villagers were deciding what to do with them. He knew that none of them would ever be able to figure out how to escape from their prison as well as Kara but he felt relieved. It was finally over.

Sapphire was almost completely recovered from her ordeal within a week. Kara had begun packing up her belongings and securing them to the dragons.

"Come with me." she said as she secured the last item to Toothless.

"Where are you going?" he asked, looking at the sky.

"Home." she smiled, her excitement clearly visible.

"I shouldn't." he said, shaking his head. "I wouldn't fit in."

Kara laughed out loud and Sven gave her a very confused look. "You will fit in." she said, apparently deciding not to tell him what she had found so funny.

Toothless gave him a rather sad look. He felt his heart melt at the sight of those large green eyes.

"Oh… all right." he said at last, mounting Toothless. "You sure you want me to come?"

"I'll probably regret it." she replied, winking at him. "But I can't know that unless you come."

Sven grinned at her and for a moment, they lingered, staring at each other. He wanted to say something about how much he had come to care about her but the words wouldn't form. A glimmer in her eye told him that she already knew.

"Let's go, bud!" Sven said to Toothless, patting him on the head.

Two sets of wings stretched out and the dragons were airborne. Sven felt his heart leap in his chest. This was the happiest he'd ever been in his life. He knew now what friendship could be and he didn't ever want to let it go.

The nightmares were over. This was better than any dream he had ever had.

* * *

_I hope you have enjoyed Pirate's Cove! There will be an epilogue so stay tuned!_


	9. Epilogue: Empty

_And here is the last bit of Pirate's Cove you'll see! Enjoy and thanks for sticking with it! See you all again in __Resting Place__, the final story in this trilogy! Expect that soon!_

_~KateMarie999_

**Epilogue: Empty**

_Dear Kara,_

_Your mother and I were really excited to hear that you're coming home. For that reason, this letter will be short. We'd rather tell you about all the news here on Berk in person. But I thought I should write this to you to let you know that the Berserkers and Outcasts declared war on us today. I knew it was only a matter of time. Your grandfather worked really hard to prevent this war for the last three years but I guess it was a long time coming._

_Anyway, your mother and I will be waiting for you with bated breath! Please come home soon! We miss you!_

_Love,_

_Dad_

Hiccup watched as Pipsqueak flew away, feeling satisfied that he would find Kara before she returned home. He missed her _so_ much. Patting his Deadly Nadder, Sky, on the head, the two walked back to his house.

Suddenly there was a blast from below. A gigantic Whispering Death emerged from the ground. Hiccup, however, sighed.

"Tuffnut!" he called. "Your dragon's loose!" he rolled his eyes. "Again…" he muttered to himself.

He pointed in the direction of Tuffnut's house, hoping the dragon would take the hint. It did and flew away toward its master. Hiccup was about to continue home when something in the ground caught his eye.

The edge of a blanket poked out of the dirt. He crouched down next to it, inspecting it with interest. He reached out and tugged it out of the ground. It was bundled up in an odd way. He began to carefully open the bundle, trying to figure out what could possibly have been buried there.

Then, just as he finally opened the bundle completely, he remembered. _His son. _He looked down, expecting to see a tiny skeleton, but what he saw made his mouth drop open.

The bundle was empty. There was no body. There was _nothing _inside of it. At first, Hiccup thought it was a different blanket. But no, the name of his son was sewn into the edges. So where was his body?

Hiccup looked up at his dragon, who gazed down at him. He couldn't quite wrap his head around what he had found. Had someone stolen the body? Why would they do that? Was… no, he couldn't think about that. He didn't want to be disappointed.

He stroked the dragon's chin with his free hand, trying to distract himself from his thoughts. But he simply couldn't keep the final possibility from crossing his mind.

Maybe… just maybe, his son was alive.

_And with that, aside from bonus chapters, __Pirate's Cove__ is COMPLETE! I hope you enjoyed it. Keep an eye out for __Resting Place__!_


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